Beetroot

Fertility
Boron, responsive to general high fertility.

Establishment
Beetroot can either be raised in a plant nursery in module trays or soil blocks or direct sown. If started in a nursery, it is worth sowing several (3-5) per block or module, both to achieve the plant density without excessive planting labor, and to facilitate hoeing between plant clusters. They can be sown outdoors from March until July. Unless you buy mono-germ seed, each 'seed' will in fact be a seed cluster. Beetroot germinates between 8-25oC. Early sowings benefit from protection with horticultural fleece or cloches.

If you plan to harvest the entire crop simultaneously, you should aim for around 30 plants/m2. Alternatively, you can aim for a significantly higher plant density than this, and thin harvest. That is, harvest the larger roots, and leave smaller plants in place to size up. This latter technique makes harvesting a bit more laborious, but you will be able to produce a lot more for about the same amount of work on establishment labor. If you are direct seeding densly to allow for thin harvesting, you should aim for the beginning of the sowing window, to allow for a long harvesting period.

Set your seed drill so that the seeds are covered, but not more than 1cm deep. For maximum yields, rows should not be significantly more than 30cm appart, though the row spacing should be determined according to your inter row cultivation equipment. As will all direct seeded crops, beetroot benefit from a stale seed bed and per-emergance flame weeding, even though they are faster to germinate and more vigorous than carrot or parsnip. They will also grow well direct seeded into a deep compost mulch. If you wish to use a grass, hay, or other fresh organic mulch, you will have to transplant through the mulch, or the mulch will likely suppress or kill your seedlings.

If you are growing beetroot in a polytunnel or greenhouse, they can be sown as early as January and will crop from May onward. However, Beetroot are a relatively low value crop with good storage characteristics, so it is unlikely to be economical to do this.

Care
Pretty easy. Bolting (water management, plant density) Rust

Harvesting
Beetroot can be sold fresh, bunched with the tops, or without the tops. Leaving the tops on will significantly reduce storage life, and if not consumed soon after harvest, eating quality. The roots can be kept in good condition of many months if they are kept bellow 4c, above freezing and around 95% relative humidity. Alternatively, they will store well in the ground as long as there isn't a hard frost. The major drawback to storing in the ground is that it interferes with a winter cover crop.